Learning Forward’s newest issue of The Learning Professional magazine happens to publish this week, National Teacher Appreciation Week, as we extend our unending gratitude to the millions of teachers in the U.S. and across the globe and recognize their dedication and service in an environment where they often face daunting challenges to meeting their students’ needs.
Our newest issue is a celebration of educators who are navigating new jobs and other changes in their schools and systems. Among those educators, new teachers have some of the greatest opportunities and challenges, as they come into the job and often assume the same responsibilities as experienced teachers.
Supporting novice teachers through high-quality mentoring is a topic that anchors our new issue because it is a valuable way to strengthen the entire teaching profession. Mentoring is a high-impact professional learning strategy with benefits that extend far beyond the mentee being supported; mentorship helps strengthen a school’s culture of instructional excellence and provides growth opportunities for mentors and leaders.
Teachers who have had access to early-career mentoring are less likely to leave the profession – and research also shows there are direct benefits to students from new-teacher mentoring in math and reading achievements. We share these stats, resources and more in the new issue’s data graphic, “Great teachers start with great mentors.”
In “Better than a buddy system: A framework for new teacher mentoring,” Leslie Ceballos and co-authors describe the benefits of an intentional mentoring system shaped around learning cycles and grounded in professional learning for mentors. The article is a snippet from Learning Forward’s upcoming book, Mentoring New Teachers: A Framework for Growth.
In “It takes a village to recruit and retain new teachers,” authors Kristen Moreland and Sara Scribner describe the power of districts, universities, and communities coming together to build systems that address multiple barriers for new educators. And our Tools section offers exercises on nurturing a growth mindset that can be used with mentors, mentees, and a wide range of other educators.
These article feature practitioners providing their own experiences with mentoring and system leaders sharing how they invest in high-quality mentoring and support to achieve positive, measurable impact.
The new issue of The Learning Professional punctuates enduring areas of our focus on what works to improve instruction, retain great teachers and leaders, and reach all students. Particularly now, as budgets are tight and uncertain, leaders need to know they are making the best investment possible for building internal capacity and focusing on student-centered outcomes.
In Daviess County, Kentucky, district leaders choose to use a portion of their precious Title II-A funds for a four-year new-teacher induction program where new teachers are mentored for a year; are coached and learn how to coach in year two; grow as a reflective practitioner and in understanding of continuous improvement in year three; and build leadership experiences and skills in year four.
All new teachers need and deserve high-quality mentoring that helps them gain the knowledge of teaching, the content they need to teach, and the network and skills needed to meet the demands of the job, which is taking a toll on teachers’ wellbeing, both physically and mentally. Last year’s Merrimack College teacher survey indicated that compared to the previous year, a larger share of public-school teachers said their mental health and wellness has a negative impact on their teaching and professional growth. Some of the teachers participating in the survey described deteriorating health to an extent that requires a leave of absence.
These findings underscore our field’s need to accelerate efforts to improve conditions for teachers to effectively reach every student and help them achieve. Those efforts should be multifaceted, systemic, and asset focused. We know that having a great principal matters to a teacher’s working conditions and job satisfaction. Having time to build trusted relationships and collaborate with colleagues matters. Coaching is a powerful tool for both new and experienced teachers. Having some work flexibility and time to plan make a difference. Having a voice to advocate for what they need and for what their students need matters.
These strategies are all within the reach of schools and systems that use high-quality professional learning to support teachers and improve conditions for learning. Moreover, they center teachers as partners and steer the work of improvement toward “what’s possible” in our school, instead “what’s wrong” with our school.
